8 Gentle Homemade Lip Scrubs

In this article we are going to explore recipes for gentle homemade lip scrubs. 

Our lips need exfoliation.  During exfoliation we remove top dead cells allowing our lips to become smooth, soft, moisturized and healthy.

Skin (in this case – lips) care products absorb better after exfoliation.

One of the main things to consider when exfoliating your lips is to use the most gentle and delicate products.  Otherwise you will end up with cracked and damaged skin.

One of the ways to exfoliate lips is to use lip scrubs.

 I have a full blog post about lip scrubs, what they are for, how to use them and where to buy them.  Please, follow this link HERE.

Which Ingredients to Use to Safely Exfoliate Your Lips

As I mentioned above, the skin on your lips is very, very gentle and thin.  In addition, it does not have oil glands, meaning, that skin can get dry very easily.

If you use harsh, rough ingredients in your scrub, you will end up with damaged lips.

Safe Ingredients To Use in DIY Lip Scrubs

Honey

Semolina

Icing Sugar

Fine brown sugar

Cinnamon

Clay

Rye flour

DO NOT USE harsh ingredients like

Regular sugar

Coffee grounds

Salt

Baking soda

Nutmeg powder 

I know that you see above ingredients a lot in homemade scrubs.  I have to tell you that they are only good for BODY SCRUBS.  Nothing else.  NEVER use those ingredients when making scrubs for facial or lip scrubs.  The particles are too harsh and will destroy protective skin barrier, which, in result, will cause dry, inflamed and irritated skin.  Read more about protective skin barrier.

8 Recipes of Homemade Lip Scrubs

The lip scrub should be stored in a cool, dry place for 2-3 weeks.  For an added refreshing effect, you can store it in the fridge.

How to make a sugar scrub for lips

DIY Lip Scrub with Shea Butter, Cacao Powder and Ginger

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of honey

1 teaspoon of powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon of melted shea butter

1/4 teaspoon of olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of cacao powder

1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger

Method:

• Mix all ingredients.
• Apply with a wooden stick or small spatula.  Spread evenly.  Do not rub vigirously.
• Leave on for 5 minutes
• Wash off with warm water.
• Follow with lip moisturizer.

DIY lip scrub with coconut oil

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of warmed coconut oil

1 teaspoon of warmed honey

2 tablespoons of fine brown sugar

Method:

• Mix all ingredients;
• Massage gently into your lips for 10-15 seconds;
• Wash off with warm water;
• Follow up with lip moisturizer

DIY lip scrub with honey and semolina

Semolina is a very fine type of flour made from durum wheat. It will scrub dead cells off your lips; and it is fine enough not to damage your skin.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of semolina

1 teaspoon of honey

1/2 teaspoon of olive oil (or almond oil, jojoba oil or any kind of carrier oil).

Method:

• Mix all ingredients together.
• Apply to lips, massage for 15 seconds.
• Leave on for 1 min and wash off with warm water. 

Honey sugar lip scrub

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of honey

1 teaspoon of powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon of jojoba oil

pinch of cinnamon powder

Method:

• Mix all ingredients together;
• Gently massage into your lips for 15 seconds;
• Wash off with warm water;
• Follow up with moisturizer.

Coconut oil lip scrub with matcha tea powder

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of honey

1 teaspoon of fine brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of matcha tea powder

4-5 drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon of warmed coconut oil

Method:

• Mix all ingredients together;
• Apply to your lips and gently massage for 10-15 seconds;
• Wash off with warm water and apply moisturizer.

Coconut oil and sugar lip scrub with oats

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of oats

1 tablespoon of milk

1 tablespoon of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of melted coconut oil

1-2 drops of mint essential oil 

Method:

• Put oats in a blender and grind until oats become very, very fine
• Add milk, sugar, coconut oil and essential oil
• Mix everything together.
• If mixture is too thick, add more milk
• Massage mixture onto lips, leave on for 1 minute and wash off with warm water. 

Lush DIY lip scrub

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of powder sugar

2-3 drops of vanilla extract

3-4 drops of carrier oil (jojoba, apricot kernel etc)

1-3 drops of red food colouring (optional)

Method:

Mix all ingredients, massage your lips and wash off with warm water.

Sugar lip scrub with cinnamon

This scrub will increase blood circulation, brining oxygen and nutrients to gentle lip skin.  

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon of powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon of fine cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon of melted shea butter

few drops of vitamin E oil (optional)

Method:

Mix all ingredients, massage your lips and wash off with warm water. 

How often to use DIY lip scrubs

Even though ingredients that we are using in these lip scrubs are gentle, do not exfoliate your lips more than once a week.  

Even the gentlest scrub can cause some damage, so once a week is enough to freshen up your skin without destroying protective barrier.

How to use homemade lip scrubs

These are the general steps when using DIY lip scrubs:

• Remove all makeup
• Wet your lips with warm water
• Apply scrub and gently massage it into lips for 10-15 seconds
• Leave scrub on for 1 minute (if you look at ingredients, they all aim to also moisturize and nourish your lips, so you can use you scrub as a lip mask)
• Wash off with warm water and apply moisturizer

Shelf life of homemade lip scrubs

Shelf life really depends on the ingredients you use.

If you use fresh ingredients (like milk, lemon juice or even water) – then shelf life is really short – 1-2 days outside refrigerator and up to 5 days in your fridge.

If you use components with long shelf life, then you can keep your product for anywhere between 1 to 3 months.

I usually prepare my homemade products fresh right before I need to use them and do not really keep them for a long time (exception is body butter and moisturizers).